Hi-Def Surround-Sound Setups for Any Budget

Your home theater dollar will go a lot further if you steer clear of the truly huge televisions. But you don't need to skimp on quality. The WESTINGHOUSE LVM-37W3 ($1399) LCD is a midsize (37 in.) monitor that has full 1080p resolution without the 1080p price. Westinghouse keeps costs down by not including a TV tuner -- most people change channels through their cable or satellite set-top box.

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The way to get maximum boom for your surround-sound buck is to buy a home-theater-in-a-box system. The 900-watt YAMAHA DVX-C770 ($550) is a nice marriage of superior sound and video flexibility. Its DVD player can upconvert standard discs to hi-def through an HDMI output and it also can play compressed DivX discs and video CDs.
If your system is simple, your remote should be, too. The UNIVERSAL REMOTE CONTROL URC-R7 ($40) has thousands of preprogrammed codes and includes an easy DVD setup guide.THE $6,000 SETUP

It won't come cheap, but if you want a TV screen that dominates the living room, you need a set that's at least 50 in., diagonally. The 56-in. SAMSUNG HL-S5687W ($2799) DLP TV has 1080p resolution and a 10,000:1 contrast ratio for bright colors and deep blacks.

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As digital technology takes over the living room, it makes sense to organize your media equipment around a computer. ALIENWARE'S DHS A SERIES ($999) is the best combination of PC and receiver we've seen, with a 1000-watt amp, up to 1.5 terabytes of customized storage and an Athlon 64 X2 dual-core chip that is tuned for multimedia. In addition, the HDMI output integrates painlessly with all your hi-def gear.
A good home theater sound system can deliver an experience that is better than that of a real theater. And your speakers are where you should spend a good chunk of your budget. The KLIPSCH RF-10 ($1349) 5.1-channel system is a solid step into the world of high-end audio equipment.

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Relying as it does on a new format without many movies available, a dedicated Blu-ray player can be a bit of an extravagance. The beauty of the SONY PLAYSTATION 3 ($600) is that you get both a 1080p Blu-ray device and the world's most sophisticated gaming machine.
The more components you have, the more advanced your remote should be. The LOGITECH HARMONY 1000 ($500) has a color touchscreen that allows you to program buttons to execute commands to several devices at once.

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